Practice, practice, practice

The weather has been really variating lately. Just yesterday it was really nice, warm and sunny day. But today - what an opposite one. Like today morning, it was so double-faced and I was predicting if we can go to our agility training today evening or not, it means is it going to rain or not. Was it just last thursday that our agility training was cancelled because of the bad rainy weather :( And so happened today. Just before the training it started raining and no chance we are going to train outside on a slippery grass and risk hurting ourselves. Our agility practises are at Tallinna Loomadehoiupaik again, and that also means the trainings are outside (not as we had in Saue, inside) - what is in one side really great but in an other side - when it rains, no training :(

So we changed our plans. Instead, not wanting to loose some useful time, we did some obedience training at home. Todays training reminded me the times when we just started our obedience trainings. Aapo learns, or as correctly said - remembers, so guickly. He is so co-operative, wanting to do things with me and so playful - what I soo like about him. I would say that obedience field is Aapo's best side of all the things we do (dog-shows, agility, but if not counting frisbee). He is really good and has talent in that. It has been my fault just not having the time to develope and train him in that field more the last couple of months. But I think it is not too late to get back training. We just need to train, brush up our obedience skill together and strengthen our bond in that field. Because in obedience as well in any other field it is all up to the co-operation :)

Well today we practised four things (mostly I choosed the things that I can do indoor). First we trained the lie down while heeling. Aapo remained to lie down position while I continued to walk forward. Secondly we practised turning while Aapo needed to sit on my left side. Also later we trained the backward turning, to develope Aapo's cognitivation of his hind legs. In this excercise I need to use hand signal, to remind him it better. Third excersice was the down stay. I have thaught Aapo to lie his head down just between his front legs, so that way when in competition he shouldn't watch around while there are distractions.
Firstly I practiced it 30 seconds, secondly 1 minute - not to get him borred or over tired. And I did the excercise with short breaks. At last we practised some retrieve. Well seeingly it's Aapo's favourite excercise of the bunch :) So it was good to do it the last. After the obedience training we played a lot to free Aapo from the training and to make it remindable that obedience practises are fun and they always will be finished in a positive way ;) so that he would like to do the training over and over again. In ideal I want Aapo to do obedience really actively, co-operatively, and what's the most important, to be happy and enjoying what he is doing. So that's why I want to emphasize the playful part - cause I believe it can bring us near to our goals. But we'll see how the real life goes ...